Addiction can happen to anyone, says former addict, prevention groups


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PROVO — As investigators look more into the Salt Lake judge accused of possessing and possibly distributing pain pills, some are trying to spread the message that addiction can happen to anyone.

The people at Odyssey House help hundreds get through substance addiction challenges each year, and said prescription drug abuse is a big problem in Utah — and that abusers come from all walks of life.

For Peter Reilly, drugs that were accessible and seemed less threatening eventually turned into something worse.

"(I) started taking pills every now and then when I was 14, 15. You start stealing to get what you want. You start lying. You lost trust from your friends and family," he said. "When that wasn't enough, I tried heroin for my first time, then that's when things got bad."

Reilly said the abuse of prescription drugs was so common in his world — at parties and among friends — that hearing of a Justice Court judge getting in trouble with the DEA just didn't seem all that surprising.

Administrators at the Odyssey House of Salt Lake City said addiction can strike anyone, even those trusted with upholding the law. A simple sense of feeling immune to it can be dangerous.

"It's a very, very slippery slope," said Christina Zidow with Odyssey House. "It happens very, very quickly, and the progression from something like Oxycontin to heroin is very quick."

She said relief is widely available, though, for those willing to take the first step, as Reilly did four months ago. He said his life is slowly coming back together.

"It's not hopeless," he said. "You definitely can beat it."

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Another group hoping to help stop drug abuse is the SMART coalition, a volunteer group in Utah County that has now trained more than 400 doctors, dentists and others on how to refine their prescribing of pain pills. They are also learning how to educate their patients on safely using, storing, and disposing of the drugs.

SMART coalition coordinator Kye Nordfelt said they train people to "make sure that medications are secured in the home, and making sure that if they have any leftover pain pills that they are disposed of properly."

Nordfelt said studies show that about 70 percent of those who abuse pain pills get them from medicine cabinets or from family and friends. He said everyone can go into their cabinet at home, take out the old pills, mix them with old food from the fridge and throw it in the outside trash.

"One simple way to prevent prescription drug abuse is to simply dispose of leftover medications when people are done with them," he said.

The SMART team said education is one way to combat drug abuse in Utah, and it's helped the state no longer be at the top of the list of abuse.

SMART is holding another training Wednesday for medical professionals in Utah County, showing them the significance of the pain pill problem, and giving them tools.

"It provides specific screening tools that doctors can use in their practice to identify if a patient coming in could potentially be abusing these powerful drugs, or if they are at greater risk for abusing them in the future."

April 27 is National Prescripton Drug Take Back Day. Visit www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov to find a collection location near you.

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Mike Anderson and Mary Richards

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